Jerusalem -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- If you 're a tourist arriving in Israel , you might be asked to give authorities a look at your personal e-mail , in addition to your travel documents .

Israel 's attorney general said Wednesday that Shin Bet , the country 's internal security force , can search a foreign traveler 's e-mail , but only in exceptional cases in which `` relevant suspicious signs '' are observed . Israel says the practice is another way to fight terrorism .

The threat of using foreign citizens for terrorist purposes is a growing trend , the Israeli Attorney General 's Office said in a written response to an inquiry filed by an Israeli human rights group .

Yigal Palmor , a spokesman for Israel 's Foreign Ministry , told CNN : `` Security may under the law demand this , but no one is forced to open their accounts to anyone they do n't want to . ''

However , the attorney general 's decision said that if the traveler declined to give consent , it would be made clear that a refusal would be taken into consideration , along with other relevant factors , in deciding whether to allow entry into Israel .

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel received the information from the Attorney General 's Office after it asked whether Israel 's security forces could demand travelers ' e-mail and social media passwords . The association said the question was a reaction to media reports last year that several Palestinian-American travelers were asked to open their e-mail accounts and show airport security before being denied entry . The group received an answer this week .

`` To be clear , this is a process whose execution is conditioned on the receipt of the passenger 's agreement , and that the latter is not required to give the investigating representative his password , as your letter suggests , but rather that the passenger himself executes entry to the e-mail account ... '' The Attorney General 's Office wrote .

Lila Margalit , an attorney for the Association for Civil Rights , said the practice is a violation of privacy rights :

`` A tourist who has just spent thousands of dollars to travel to Israel , only to be interrogated at the airport by Shin Bet agents and told to grant access to their e-mail account , is in no position to give free and informed consent , '' she said Wednesday . `` Such ` consent , ' given under threat of deportation , can not serve as a basis for such a drastic invasion of privacy . In today 's world , access to a person 's e-mail account is akin to access to their innermost thoughts and personal lives . Allowing security agents to take such invasive measures at their own discretion and on the basis of such flimsy ` consent ' is not befitting of a democracy . ''

Security checks at Tel Aviv 's Ben Gurion Airport are known around the world as some of the most exhaustive and thorough , and this is one more layer that travelers should be aware of .

Jerusalem Travel Agency owner Margo Tarazi said she had heard of the practice but her clients had not experienced it :

`` None of our clients have faced this problem yet . They come with official groups with their vouchers , and no one asks them about these things . However , if we do receive any groups with some people who are originally from Iran or from Syria , they are detained for several hours and asked to sign a paper not to cause any harm to the state of Israel during their visit . ''

Critics of the practice worry it will be used to target Arabs or Muslims who communicate with Palestinian activists or organizations .

@highlight

Israeli attorney general says travelers ' e-mail can be searched in exceptional cases

@highlight

`` No one is forced to open their accounts to anyone they do n't want to , '' official says

@highlight

Israeli Attorney General 's Office says it 's fighting threat of using foreign citizens for terrorism

@highlight

The practice violates privacy rights , attorney for civil rights group says